NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule took a pointed dig at her cousin and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, accusing him of mixing business with personal relationships. Ms Sule's comments come days after Ajit Pawar claimed that he "regretted" fielding his wife, Sunetra Pawar, against Ms Sule in the Lok Sabha election earlier this year.
Ms Sule, who is the daughter of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, said: "The state government did not remember beloved Sisters during Lok Sabha polls, their love started overflowing during assembly polls."
"Sadly, our brothers could not differentiate between relations and business. One should not bring money into relationships and not bring relations into business. However, our brother failed to understand this. This has hurt us a lot," she added.
Ms Sule's criticism did not stop there. She took a broader swipe at the NDA government, accusing it of using welfare schemes as tools for electoral gain rather than genuine concern for the people. "This government does everything only for votes. They do nothing with genuine intent. This is the impact of the Lok Sabha elections. Two years ago, no one showed any affection or concern for sisters. This is solely the effect of the Lok Sabha elections," she asserted.
The comments appeared to be directed at the much-debated "Ladki Bahin" scheme of the Maharashtra government.
Ajit Pawar is currently on a statewide 'Jan Samman Yatra,' promoting various government initiatives, including the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana. This program, which offers Rs 1,500 per month to women, has been at the centre of controversy. Ms Sule, criticising the scheme, has urged women to withdraw the money from their accounts. "I request my Ladli Behan to withdraw the money quickly as you cannot trust this government," she warned.
But her comments were significantly timed, days after her cousin expressed regret for fielding his wife Sunetra Pawar against Supriya Sule in the Baramati constituency in the Lok Sabha polls.
"I love all my sisters. One shouldn't allow politics to enter homes. I made a mistake in fielding Sunetra against my sister. This shouldn't have happened. But the parliamentary board (of NCP) made a decision. Now I feel it was wrong," Ajit Pawar told a Marathi news channel on Monday.
Sunetra Pawar failed to unseat Ms Sule from the Baramati constituency.
Elections to the 288-seat Maharashtra assembly are scheduled to be held this year. Ms Sule, part of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP is an ally of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress.
